WASHINGTON – Somewhere around the world, another Christian is martyred, on average, every three hours, according to a new report that concludes nations where radical Muslims are abundant are the worst places for Christians to live.

The new World Watch Top 10 Violence List published by Open Doors International said the majority of the cases in which Christians are killed because of their faith are in Nigeria, Syria and the Central African Republic.

“The alarming increase of vi...olence against Christians in Nigeria over the past months highlights the lack of religious freedom they have and the daily dangers they face from the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram and other violent Islamic organizations,” said David Curry, president of Open Doors USA.

Curry added: “Going to school, attending church or identifying yourself as a Christian is a very brave decision in Nigeria. It is turning into a bloodbath. Christians in the West must stand in the gap with our prayers and support.”

The World Watch Top 10 Violence List is a continuation of the Open Doors 2014 World Watch List, covering the violence portion of the World Watch List questionnaire. The report looks at the nations where there is the most violence, up to and including murder, against Christians.
It is based on attacks between Nov. 1, 2012, and March 31, 2014, and lists Nigeria, Syria, Egypt, Central African Republic, Mexico, Pakistan, Colombia, India, Kenya and Iraq, in that order.
Observers might be surprised to find North Korea, the 2014 World Watch List’s No. 1 worst persecutor of Christians, absent from the Top 10 Violence List.

“When it comes to counting the numbers of Christians martyred, it is impossible to get an accurate number for North Korea,” said Jan Vermeer, Open Doors field worker for North Korea. “This is not because there are no Christians being killed for their faith. It is a fact that thousands of Christians are starved, abused and tortured in North Korea’s extensive prison system. But due to an inability to derive sufficiently accurate figures about the reasons for killing Christians in this most secretive society, North Korea is excluded from the total number of killings.”

In countries where Christians are persecuted, researchers recorded 3,641 churches and Christian properties destroyed and 13,120 other forms of violence against Christians such as beatings, abductions, rapes, arrests and forced marriages.
Open Doors researchers said
Nigeria topped the list of faith-related killings with a total of 2,073 Christian martyrs, followed by
Syria with 1,479,
Central African Republic 1,115,
Pakistan 228,
Egypt 147,
Kenya 85,
Iraq 84,
Burma 33,
Sudan 33
Venezuela 26.